Ferguson plc

The Wolseley business began in 1887 as The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company. Herbert Austin, who had worked on Wolseley's shearing machinery development in Melbourne, Australia from 1887, when he was aged just 20, was appointed its manager and received a share of its equity.

Seeking other suitable products, Austin designed his first car in 1896, and for the next four years, continued to develop and improve his designs. Though the board did allow Austin to purchase some machinery to build cars, they decided around 1900, it was unlikely to be a profitable industry. In 1901, Wolseley's embryo car business was acquired by Vickers, Sons and Maxim.Roy Church, 'Austin, Herbert, Baron Austin (1866–1941)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

The post-war rise of synthetic textiles sharply reduced the demand for wool and the necessary machinery, and in 1960, Wolseley diversified activities, by buying Nu Way Heating. Nu Way Burners was founded in 1932 in Vines Lane, Droitwich Spa, Oil Burner Components was founded by Nu Way in 1959, as a national spares organisation. Out of that grew O.B.C. Limited, and then Wolseley Centers Limited, the major distributor of plumbing and central heating equipment.{{cite web | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/wolseley-plc | title=Wolseley plc | work=Encyclopedia.com}}

In 1965, Wolseley purchased Granville Controls and Yorkshire Heating Supplies. Wolseley continued to expand buying both manufacturing and distribution businesses. In 1982, it entered the market in the United States by acquiring Ferguson Enterprises, a distributor of plumbing supplies with around fifty branches on the East Coast of the United States, for $30.7 million.{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/19/business/ferguson-enterprises.html | title=Ferguson Enterprises | agency=Reuters | work=The New York Times | date=19 May 1982}} In 1984, some of the manufacturing businesses were sold, and since that time Wolseley has been mainly a distribution business. Wolseley expanded to Europe by buying French plumbing supplies business Brossette in February 1992. In April 2000, Wolseley sold most of its remaining manufacturing businesses to Cinven for £215 million.

In 2008, during the Great Recession, the company announced 6,000 layoffs.{{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/wolseley-cuts-again-as-squeeze-tightens-q9c8f63r75k | title=Wolseley cuts again as squeeze tightens | first=Angela | last=Jameson | work=The Times | date=July 17, 2008}}

In July 2011, Saint-Gobain acquired Build Center for £145 million and Brossete for €186-million.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14274825 | title=Wolseley agrees to sell Build Center to Saint Gobain | work=BBC News | date=25 July 2011}}{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/saint-gobain-signs-agreement-with-wolseley-to-acquire-the-build-center-network-and-brossette-126102138.html | title=Saint-Gobain Signs Agreement With Wolseley to Acquire the Build Center Network and Brossette | publisher=PR Newswire | date=July 25, 2011}} Wolseley sold ISB (Importation et Solution Bois) Group to its management in April 2015.{{Cite news | url=https://www.fordaq.com/news/ISB_France_holding_business_acquisition_41341.html | title=ISB Group separates from Wolseley; becomes 100% French | date=9 April 2015 | website=Fordaq}} Wolseley sold Bois & Matériaux to OpenGate Capital in November 2015.{{Cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151111005215/en/OpenGate-Capital-Enters-into-Exclusivity-with-Wolseley-plc-for-the-Acquisition-of-Bois-Mat%C3%A9riaux | title=OpenGate Capital Enters into Exclusivity with Wolseley plc for the Acquisition of Bois & Matériaux | publisher=Business Wire | date=11 November 2015}}

Following a 2016 restructuring of the UK business (based in Warwick in Warwickshire), most of the trading brands were renamed, and brought under the single brand of Wolseley. In Scotland, it was a supplier of plumbing, heating and bathroom products, branded William Wilson.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/27/wolseley-cuts-800-more-jobs-as-profits-dip | title=Wolseley cuts 800 more jobs as profits dip | first=Sean | last=Farrell | work=The Guardian | date=27 February 2016}}{{cite news | title=Plumb and Parts Center now Wolseley | url=https://registeredgasengineer.co.uk/plumb-and-parts-center-now-wolseley/ | work=Gas Engineer | date=3 January 2018}}

Wolseley rebranded as Ferguson effective 31 July 2017, because almost all of its business was in the United States, by its Ferguson Enterprises brand. It continued to use the name Wolseley in the United Kingdom and Canada, for its brand recognition.{{cite news|url=https://www.mdm.com/news/companies/wolseley-officially-changes-name-to-ferguson/|title=Wolseley Officially Changes Name to Ferguson|date=31 July 2017|newspaper=MDM|access-date=12 November 2024}}

In 2017, Ferguson sold its Scandinavian businesses for €1 billion.{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/03/28/wolseley-rebrand-ferguson-departs-nordic-region/ | title=Wolseley to rebrand as Ferguson as it departs from Scandinavia | first=Sam | last=Dean | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=28 March 2017}} In 2018, Wolseley UK exited its wholesale business, closed nearly 100 branches and cut about 800 jobs, leaving it with 642 branches. Ferguson also made about $650 million of acquisitions.{{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/markets/article/plumber-taps-into-lucrative-us-market-xmk6tcw6t | title=Ferguson taps into lucrative US construction market | first=James | last=Dean | work=The Times | date=3 October 2018}} In January 2021, the company sold Wolseley UK to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for £308 million.{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clayton-dubilier--rice-to-acquire-wolseley-uk-leading-distributor-of-plumbing-heating-and-climate-products-in-308-million-divestiture-transaction-301199989.html | title=Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to Acquire Wolseley UK, Leading Distributor of Plumbing, Heating and Climate Products, in £308 Million Divestiture Transaction | publisher=PR Newswire | date=4 January 2021}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/business/ferguson-to-sell-uk-business-for-421-million-to-focus-on-us-market-idUSKBN2990N4/ | title=Ferguson to sell UK business for $421 million to focus on U.S. market | work=Reuters | date=4 January 2021}}

In August 2024, the company merged into Ferguson Enterprises.{{Cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730682337/en/Ferguson-Enterprises-Inc.-Establishment-of-new-corporate-structure-cancellation-of-Ferguson-plc-listing-and-admission-of-Ferguson-Enterprises-Inc.-common-stock | title=Ferguson Enterprises Inc.: Establishment of new corporate structure, cancellation of Ferguson plc listing and admission of Ferguson Enterprises Inc. common stock | publisher=Business Wire | date=1 August 2024}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/08/28/ferguson-parent-company-officially-headquartered-in-newport-news/ | title=Ferguson parent company headquartered in Newport News | work=The Virginian-Pilot | date=28 August 2024}}{{Cite news | url=https://in.marketscreener.com/quote/index/DOW-JONES-INDUSTRIAL-4945/news/Ferguson-changes-parent-company-to-Ferguson-Enterprises-amid-US-shift-47530656/ | title=Ferguson changes parent company to Ferguson Enterprises amid US shift | work=Market Screener | date=1 August 2024}}

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• {{Official website|https://www.corporate.ferguson.com/}}

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Category:2024 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Business services companies established in 1887

Category:Building materials companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Companies based in Berkshire

Category:Wholesalers of the United Kingdom